1.
Research trends in educ.technology
Mart Laanpere, head of the Centre for Educational Technology
2. Let’s discuss
What is one research problem you would like to
study in the domain of educational technology?
How would you collect the data?
3. Comparative studies
Research question: kas õppimine X vahendusel
tagab paremad õpitulemused kui õppimine ilma X-
ta?
(X = radio, TV, video, transparencies, e-learning…)
Research design: experiment, experimantal and
control group, pre- and post-test
T.Russell: No Significant Difference
Phenomenon, 355 studies, resulting with: no
difference
How to interpret this result?
4. The great media debate
Was launched early 1990-s, still active
Richard Clarke: “Media will never influence learning!”, medium is
merely a transport vehicle, which influences the learning no more
than delivery truck changes the taste or nutrition quality of fruits
it transports to shop
Robert Kozma: this is wrong approach, we should rather ask:
what are the actual and potential relationships between media
and learning? Can we describe and understand those
relationships? And can we create a strong and compelling
influence of media on learning through improved
theories, research, and instructional designs?
Contemporary view: each tool have different
affordacnes, selecting a tool affects; A.Maslow’s the Law of the
Instrument: "if all you have is a hammer, everything looks like a
nail"
5. Alternative research approaches
Norm Friesen: there are more option on
methodological side
From cultural studies: narrative research
Post-cognitivist turn: action research, distributed
cognition
Phenomenology: interpreting experiences
Critical and historical research: myths of e-
learning, influence of military funding on e-learning
From computer science: data
mining, simulations, development research
6. Estonian studies
Tiger in Focus (2001)
ICT and school culture (2003)
Tiger in Focus 2 (2004)
IEA SITES (2007)
ICT and other cross-curricular themes (2008)
Laptop schools (2009)
OECD PISA (2009)
Vt. http://www.tiigrihype.ee/et/uuringud-ja-monitooring
7. Examples form PhD topics
Kai Pata: Scaffolding of collaborative decision-making on environmental
dilemmas
Piret Luik: Efficient Characteristics of Educational Software in the case
of electronic textbooks and drillsl
Margus Pedaste: Problem solving in web-based learning environment
Terje Väljataga: Learner Control and Responsibility: Expanding the
Concept of Self-direction in Higher Education
Kairit Tammets: A cross-border knowledge-management in teachers'
lifelong professional development
Mart Laanpere: Pedagogy-driven design of virtual learning
environments
8. New trends in educ. technology research
E-portfolio, competence management
Open Educational Resources, e-textbook, MOOC
1:1 computer use (incl. BYOD, m-learning)
“Serious games”, gamification
Learner models and recommender systems
Digital learning ecosystems
Learning analytics
10. Assignment
Now, re-define your research problem and method
for a study which would interest you personally in
the domain of educational technology!
